Russia has developed the first vaccine offering “sustainable immunity” against the coronavirus, President Vladimir Putin said on August 11.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said that the country has approved the world’s first vaccine for the coronavirus, dubbed Sputnik V. Some health experts, however, are raising concerns about the vaccine being approved before clinical trials have been completed.
“A vaccine against coronavirus has been registered for the first time in the world this morning,” Putin said on state television, according to CNN. “I know that it works quite effectively, it forms a stable immunity.”
The vaccine, which was developed by Gamaleya Institute in Moscow, still needs to go through phase III trials, where a greater number of people are tested over a long period of time. Putin reportedly dismissed concerns about the speed of the vaccine’s approval, saying it has already been given to one of his daughters.
The vaccine could be put into mass production by the end of the year, according to Reuters.
Dozens of vaccines to stop COVID-19 are being developed around the world to beat back the virus that has killed over 160,000 in the US and more than 700,000 worldwide. Many experts, including doctors at the World Health Organization, have said the fastest way to bring an end to the pandemic is through a vaccine.
While some have pinned hope on the rapid development of a vaccine, health experts have also warned that safety needs to remain a top priority.
“I do hope that the Chinese and the Russians are actually testing the vaccine before they are administering the vaccine to anyone, because claims of having a vaccine ready to distribute before you do testing, I think, is problematic at best,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases, at a congressional hearing last month.
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